# Are crooked teeth attractive in Japan?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 5, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162 "2013-01-05T15:56:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162/1 "2013-01-05T15:56:47Z")

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I saw this article [http://storify.com/articlepro1979/snag-this-in-japan-straight-teeth-are-out-and-the](http://storify.com/articlepro1979/snag-this-in-japan-straight-teeth-are-out-and-the) , and I’m wondering if it’s true? Never mind if people pay for it, are crooked teeth attractive in the first place? How popular are they? I mean, Cracked had an article on how many things we think are common in Japan are actually not.

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**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162/2 "2013-01-06T00:42:54Z")

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I have a subtle snaggletooth, and a lot of guys have found it cute and endearing, like a dimple or crooked smile.

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**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162/3 "2013-01-06T01:28:42Z")

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The last time I was in Japan, there was somewhat of a surge in the popularity of ‘yaeba’ (八重歯), which is what it’s called there. It is believed to make the girl seem young, innocent, and ‘kawaii’ (かわいい: cute). Guys eat it up. I’ve always felt this to be a little pervy, but to each his own, I guess.

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**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-crooked-teeth-attractive-in-japan/646162/4 "2013-01-06T03:41:13Z")

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I believe that, besides the subset of the population who have a fetish for this, many people do not get braces when they were teenagers because they do not really care about US-style straight teeth, and would rather spend the money on education. I received this information many months ago from my Japanese girlfriend, so my memory may be wrong about this.